A Better Man
by Lunaschild2016
Summary: He stood on the bridge of The Chasm, bottle in his hand and his face full of pain and anger. He was drunk and teetering. She had saved him, not literally but enough to almost be that. With an offer of advice, support and friendship the Stiff had saved him. Him. The prick Candor that everyone else thought was a monster. Because of her he was a better man. AU, No War, No Petris, T
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is a short story that I already have written out and completed. I had contemplated making it longer but I think I am going to end things for Peter on the note I did. I might go back and pick up his journey and the rest of the gangs in a sequel but I just felt I needed to give Peter some love. I love Miles Teller and I think he did a stellar job as Peter. Just like with Jai though, his performance hinted at hidden depths to the character and I wanted to explore them. So this is me exploring what made Peter the way he was...really all of the Candors. This is about his struggle with who he is and wants to be. There is no Petris here but there is a close bond formed.**

 **I hope everyone likes the story and if you want more of him and the gang let me know and I will see about continuing it on for him. Ya'll have a great night!**

 **Chapter 1**

He stood on the bridge of The Chasm, bottle in his hand and his face full of pain and anger. He was drunk and teetering. Somewhere in the back of his mind, the sober part, he knew this was a bad fucking idea. What else in his life wasn't a bad idea though?

He had known from early on he belonged in Dauntless. Because of the belief of his former faction he had to be honest about it. It had made his life a living hell until he got big enough and strong enough to start turning that around. Except by then he had also had so much anger for how even his own family, especially his own family, had treated him that he took it farther than just defending himself.

He had lost his way a bit but when he got here finally he thought he could find it again. Reputations proceed you though, even here. He hadn't helped that, he was still a huge dick. Couldn't help it, it was a defense mechanism.

Sighing he took the bottle and tilted it up and started to fall backwards from the motion.

"Ok. I think that's enough for you. Unless you just want to fall in, then by all means." The voice of the young woman next to him muttered sarcastically as she put a hand out to steady him and tried to take the bottle from him.

Peter scoffed and blinked blearily at her. "What do you care Stiff? You out of everyone should be pushing me in right now. Maybe it's what I deserve."

Tris sighs and surprised Peter by tipping the bottle back herself and then facing him. "You're a dick Peter. I won't argue with that. I also don't think you attacked Edward. I saw your face when you walked up, just before you slammed that mask back in place that you wear all the time. You were just as sickened by it and scared too."

Peter shook his head a little as if to clear it. "Ok, I must be off the deep end drunk. Because there is no way you just said what I think you said. You believe me?"

Tris frowns and shrugs. "I didn't know you had been saying you didn't do it. I have been rather occupied lately just trying to make sure I make it. But yes, I believe you didn't attack Edward. I also think you might know who did though Peter."

Peter sighs and hangs his head. "All my fault." He mutters and runs a hand over his eyes. "Should have told them to stay. I just didn't want to be alone here."

Tris bites her lip and sighed, handing him the bottle back. "If you remember this in the morning…." she starts to usher him to the dorms and away from the bridge as she speaks "...then you have a decision to make Peter. Protect them and hurt yourself and our faction by allowing people like them to stay. Or do what you know is right. Even if you don't though Peter you will still be alone. You can be standing in the Pit full of people you say are friends but it won't make it any more true than right now. Believe me until you let yourself open up you can't begin to know what true friendship is."

"Look at you being all introspective and shit." Peter mumbles as he takes drinks and stumbles along the path she is half pushing half carrying him down to the dorms.

Tris laughs and shakes her head. "Yeah must be all the beer and whiskey."

Peter looks down at the former abnegation and sighs. "''M sorry 'bout the fight Stiff. You did good. He wouldn't let me stop."

Peter scowls at that. He knew why Eric wouldn't let him or any of them stop but it didn't make him feel any better about it.

Tris shrugged and sighed. "I survived and that was the whole point. Eric is just as much a dick as you but he had a point. We need to know we can survive it and not give up. Hard lessons to learn but no one said this was going to be easy."

"Should be a leader Stiff. Just full of all kinds a wisdom tonight." Peter was spinning and barely made it to his bunk when she pushed him onto it, took the bottle from him and threw the blanket over him.

"I don't know about the wisdom thing Hayes but I am seriously considering the Leader part." Tris mumbled and then took a swig of the bottle. "Get some sleep Peter. I have an instructor to hunt down and set straight."

Peter barely heard those last words before he let the spinning spin him right into the blackness.

"Arrhhh." Was all Peter could get out as he rolled over the next morning, clutching his head in his hands.

He heard feminine chuckling beside him. Causing him to crack an eye open to see the Stiff sitting on the bunk beside him with a bottle of water and a packet of something.

"Wasn't a dream?" Peter mumbled and tried to sit up.

Tris bit her lip and shook her head. The rest of the dorm was still asleep so she was trying to be quiet. She had just gotten in from Four's and had for some reason stopped to pick up a water and aspirin from the clinic for Peter. She was going to try and convince him to tell someone what he knew about the attack.

Peter reached to take the water and the pills she handed him. He quirked an eyebrow as he sat up finally. "Decide better and that it might be good to do me in Stiff?" He drawled out in a raspy broken voice.

Tris snorted and shook her head. "No, but I am glad you remember the conversation. Do you remember what I said about your options Peter?"

Peter had tossed the pills back and was drinking the water as the conversation, hazy as it was, came back to him. After he had swallowed he sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. "Not great options any way I look at it Stiff. Who is to say they will even believe me Tris. You might be the only that believes I didn't do it."

Tris nod and sighs. "Then I can go with you. If I am with you Peter then they will have to know you are serious."

Peter scowls at her. Trying to figure out her angle and why she would do this for him. "Why are you doing this Stiff? What's in it for you?"

Tris feels her anger snap but she breathes and reigns it in. "Think about it Peter. Look beyond all that asshole behavior and tendencies and think about it. Do I seem like the type to want those type of people in my faction? It won't make us better and sure as hell won't make me better. They are your friends now Peter but when it comes down to it, do you think they would hesitate to do the same to you or anyone if they thought it would help them?"

Tris shrugged then continued. "No, my reasons aren't completely selfless but then again I am not selfless. Not all the time. I don't want to have to keep looking over my shoulder just because I might be good at something and someone wants to take the coward's way to the top. You may be an ass Peter but you aren't a coward. You want to prove yourself here. You can't do that with this hanging over your head."

Peter knew she was right. He hated that he had allowed it to get this far but he never really thought they would do something like this. Well, not true. He had always known they could they just hadn't. With a sigh he nodded.

"You know Stiff. You sound an awful like an Erudite sometimes." He mumbled and drank some water.

Tris smiled and laughed a little. "Well thank you. I am sure my best friend would be thrilled to know her influence hasn't worn off in such a short time."

Peter quirked an eyebrow and tilted his head. "Your best friend is Erudite? How did that even happen?"

Tris shrugged and stood. "Circumstances threw us together. Anyways, I am going to go grab some breakfast. If you are serious about this then I will wait in the dining hall. We can go to the leader's offices afterwards. I was told they are almost always in them by this time anyways."

With a nod she turned to leave and Peter took a moment to reflect before he slowly got up to get a shower, dressed and then went to find her. They had been his best friends growing up. They had tried to shield him when the worst had been done to him but he hadn't seen until recently that they were just as bad to others as others had been to him.

All his life all he wanted was to get to Dauntless to become a protector. He hadn't realized that in trying to get here he had let himself become one of the ones that people needed to be protected from. He could change that. He could change himself. He just needed to make the choice and effort.

He walked into the dining hall to see Tris sitting with some of her dauntless born friends. He grabbed some food and was going to go sit somewhere else when she looked up and motioned for him to join her with a quirked and challenging eyebrow.

He could change but he needed to make the effort. Starting now and here.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Peter stood at attention beside Tris with Four flanking the both of them. They were in the Senior Leader's office, Max Cornell, but all of leadership was there.

Eric Coulter, the Second in Command, was the one that was addressing his two Initiates. Seeing the two of them together had piqued his interest. Then Peter had began telling him what he knew of the attack on their top rated initiate and he had all of their attentions.

He had could admit he thought it was Hayes. His attitude and demeanor suggested he could and would do just about anything to get number one. They couldn't prove it and without Edward being able to identify him or anyone. Without witnesses and proof there wasn't a damn thing that could be done. Did it piss him off? Sure it did. They were now out a hell of a soldier and left with a coward in his place.

He almost couldn't believe his story but for the presence of the Stiff. They were fucking smart for her to be here. But he had always had his suspicions about the Stiff. Not that it mattered or that Dauntless gave a shit, not in the way Erudite wanted others to. In fact the only reason Dauntless cared was because they tended to make great leaders. Eric repressed a self satisfied smirk at that thought.

Sighing he pushed away from the desk he was leaning on and uncrossed his arms.

"So you didn't see the attack and they didn't tell you directly that they were either doing it beforehand or that they had done it afterwards. Am I correct in all this?" Eric asked this but it wasn't really a question. Just speaking the facts out loud for everyone present and for it to be recorded while hating the hell out of what he knew was going to happen. Absolutely fucking nothing.

Peter and Tris stiffened, all of Leadership and Instructors did, but Peter nodded.

"Sir, yes Sir. That is correct. Before the attack they had pulled me aside and said that I wouldn't have to worry much longer but that was all they would say. I did try and tell them that I wanted to handle it my way. I meant for me to gain rank again or to keep trying but they just shook their heads and disappeared. Afterwards they wouldn't say what they did if anything but they made crude jokes. Not unusual for them or even me but it was a way for them to communicate things without saying it right out. It was something we had developed in Candor." Peter shrugged and scowled at himself and the past he was seeing was less than suited to who he should have and wanted to be.

Eric looked to Max for the final judgment with thinned lips. Max sighed and nodded. "Hayes, Prior; it took a tremendous act of bravery and strength to come before us to give us this information. The fact that two of the biggest rivals in our initiation joined together to come against this act of cowardice lets me know that our trainers are getting through to your group. I am pleased with them and you."

Max tried not to roll his eyes and smirk at the smug look that came over Eric and Four's faces. Each one most likely mentally taking all the credit for themselves for this compliment. If they could only see each other then that would wipe those smirks right off their faces. Those two boys were and would always be more alike than they knew.

Max frowned and went on to the more unpleasant business at hand. "I am afraid that even with this information we can't bring charges against them. We have no physical proof or witnesses. I don't want you two to get discouraged though because with your statements we can make a note and do more investigations. We can keep a closer eye on them and their activities. I am also going to need to ask something of you Peter."

Peter and Tris shared a look. She had told him that if they couldn't bring charges against him, they might ask him to play at being with his two former friends to see if he could get them to confess or just keep an eye on them. He smirked at her and shook his head that she was right.

"Well, you were right Stiff." Peter mumbled.

Tris bit her lip and shrugged. "It was a reasonable observation. They hadn't come and drug your ass away yet and you were the top suspect. That meant they needed proof or a witness. Just like he said. It just makes sense to keep your friends close and enemies closer too. Good tactics and good way to get Intel."

Max and Eric shared their own looks and Eric's lips twitched before his face went hard at a glare from Four to him. Like he had any interest in his fucking little Stiff. Gods he just wanted to punch the shit out of Four sometimes.

Time and place Coulter, he reminded himself.

Max nodded to the two initiates. "Yes, we would like you to stay close to them or pretend to be close to them. If you can get them to admit it to you in the actual words that they did it then do so. Otherwise just keep an eye on them and if they seem to be up to something in the future let one of us know. Until then you are both dismissed. You have training and I wouldn't want you to be late. I hear your instructors can be real asses about being late."

Max threw that little dig in with a smirk and both men bristled a little. More alike than either knew or would admit he thought again.

With the appropriate salutes, Tris and Peter left the office. Tris looked to Peter and sighed. "I know you wanted to make a clean break but this is better for us. Like I said friends close but enemies closer. That doesn't mean you need to just stick with them though. You got along fairly well with my friends this morning."

Peter frowns and shrugs. "That's because none of them were transfers like us Stiff. I'll try but I can't change overnight completely. Someone is bound to say something though." Peter looks worriedly over to Tris. "You know Chris is going to be pissed that you are even talking to me in a decent way. We have history and it isn't good."

Tris nods and shrugs with a frown. "We knew it wasn't going to be easy Peter. It isn't easy to do the right things but it doesn't mean we shouldn't try. If she is my friend then she will know this is just me and get over it. I don't think you two need to be best friends or anything but could you be civil to her?"

Peter shrugs as they make their way through the Pit. "I can try but I make no promises. She may have not called it bullying, Tris, but her bluntness and way of addressing things in Candor could be just as bad. I don't think she is a bad person but she isn't the nicest either."

Tris nods with a sigh and a small smile. "Yeah she can be a bit much at times. You know Peter, just like you have a story for why you are the way you are….she does too. Maybe you two should talk about that one day. Not my place to say what for either of you but it might be a good idea."

Tris hadn't been surprised when Chris had told her of her reasons for being in Dauntless and her life before in Candor. It seemed to her that Candor promoted brutality of not just honesty but spirit as well. Not intentionally but how things were for some dependents it was like the only way they developed to survive. She suspected that Peter had something similar happen to him.

The two made it to the training room in time and most of the others were already there. Chris was left scowling at Peter and sending worried looks to Tris when the two walked in together. Tris knew Peter was about to stop and move off to be by himself instead of going to the group of Tris' friends.

She solved this by grabbing the sleeve of his jacket and hauling him along with her. "Starting today remember. All in or nothing Peter." She mumbled as they walked up the group that were all now scowling at the two.

"Can't I just jump down the damn hole again? Much less fucking intimidating." Peter scowled as he muttered this.

His lips twitched at the laugh that Tris had at his words and dejected tone.

"We are Dauntless Hayes. Put some snap in your spine and raise your chin. We got this." Tris took on Eric's famous tone and ordered him in a mimicking way.

This really did cause Peter to laugh as he shook his head when they got closer. "Now let me see you be brave enough to do that in front of our fearless leader, Stiff."

The two came to stand before the group and Tris let go of his sleeve as she laughed. "I am Dauntless and I am crazy Hayes but even I am not that crazy."

"Wow Four. Looks like the Stiff does know when to hold that mouth shut. And here I thought we were going to have a repeat of the knife throwing incident." Eric smirks as he approaches the group. How he had beat the two he couldn't say other than they apparently still hadn't learned all the shortcuts. Not that they showed them to the initiates, on purpose. The thought caused him to smirk a little before he glared at his group.

"Well what are you waiting for? You know the drill. Start your laps." He barked at the group.

Tris' eyes had gone wide the moment that she heard Eric speaking and saw it mirrored in all the others faces too. Relieved that for some reason Eric was showing her mercy, she let herself be pulled along by Chris to start their day's worth of torture. They had visiting day tomorrow and then a few off days before they started the next stage.

They just needed to get through today. All of the initiates were using the day as a distraction, as the instructors arranged on purpose, from wondering who would be showing up tomorrow.

Peter just hoped his family decided against showing up. If his father showed up he wasn't sure he would be able to hold in his temper or thoughts. Tris was right, they were Dauntless now. He would stand before him with his spine straight and his chin high. He would let him see who he was now and who he wanted to be. Not who the man had tried to make him


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"Are you ready for another day of fear sim hell?" Uri mutters as he takes a seat beside Tris, pulling Mar beside him.

Tris snorts and shrugs. "Not my favorite part of the day but at least we are getting near the end."

Peter picks at his food and scowls. "Easy for you to say Stiff. You make this shit look easy. I don't know how the fuck you do it."

Peter is still scowling and doesn't see Tris stiffen or the others look at her with questions in their own eyes. He didn't mean to plant doubts he was just muttering and pissed off because his fears had him messed up right now. The things your mind conjured up were seriously more demented than he ever gave himself credit for and it made him wonder how fucked up he really was.

"How do you do it?" Al asks in a whiney voice that has always been able to set Peter off.

"How does she do what Al? Beat you? The little stiff beating the big brute? Maybe she is just better than you in everything. Ever think of that? Maybe you just aren't cut out for things here or for the things you see in that thing you call a brain." Peter is projecting all his own thoughts at this point and unleashing on the weakest target.

A move he has always done and one he is trying so hard to stamp out of himself but it is a lot harder than he thought it would be.

Chris gives Tris a look that plainly says, 'see I told you so' causing Tris to scowl even more. The thing is she kind of agreed with Peter. She would never have said it like he did. She knows that is Peter using that attitude he always uses to say things he might be feeling about himself but in a way that cuts someone else.

Her scowl deepened and she slammed her hand down on the table. "Peter!" She barked at him.

Peter's head snapped to her and they glared at each other. "What? I'm just saying what everyone here is thinking including you. Stiff. Like we don't hear him crying almost every night since he got here. Or see that when he should be the top person just because of how big he is, he is the weakest because he has no spine. I won't apologize for telling him or you like it is because maybe it will help him. You want to know how she does it Al? Maybe she does it but not being such a weak coward all of the time. Now, I am going to leave and Chris you can go on about how I am such a dick."

Peter grabs his tray and shoves off from the table. As predicted he does here Chris' muttered calling him a dick. He never said he wasn't one and yeah he was more cruel than he needed to be in addressing Al's question. He was also right even if he was also saying about himself too.

He made his way to the training room and decided to get a little time on the bags before he made his way to the waiting room where they sat before they were called in. It didn't help his mood that he was stressed out from having to hide something he hadn't even known he was until his damn aptitude testing.

The Abnegation woman hadn't said he would be in danger so much as she just said it would be best if no one knew and that he needed to learn how to hide it. Divergent. What the hell was it anyways? Four had been shocked when he had emerged from his first sim. Peter had been shocked more from what the hell his fear had been.

He didn't know who the girl was but it had shaken him to his core that he could feel so much for someone and be willing to die for them. He had always felt he was way to selfish and too much of a dick to ever care that much for anyone besides himself. Four had said he had somehow changed things in the sim and that he shouldn't have been able to. He changed them because he was Divergent.

Apparently so was Tris. Four hadn't come out and said it but he had hinted that maybe he should talk to Tris about her sims. He hadn't known how to for the first few days and so didn't. It wasn't until Tris cornered him that he found out what it meant and what he needed to do. It didn't make him any happier and it added to the stress.

Both he and Tris seemed to be stretched thin and it was showing more on him than her. Somehow they had become good friends since that night at the Chasm. He wondered at that but didn't complain. Although he did comment on it to her once. Tris had just laughed and said she was used to having an odd collection of friends. Her best friend was Erudite and apparently was a handful.

He could tell that Tris missed her and was even hopeful she would be transferring in. She was also the one that had helped Tris to find a way to hide her divergence. There were grumblings about being a divergent not being fair or safe but that was all they were. He couldn't see what the big deal was because it wasn't like it made things easier for them.

With a sigh he worked the bags and lost himself with the activity. He knew he was going to get shit from Tris and the others for coming down on Al but he couldn't help it. Al didn't belong in Dauntless.

A thought had been running through Peter's mind lately though. He had been second behind Tris for the last few weeks. It was being hinted that they would both be offered leadership positions if they made top ranks. At first he was ecstatic about that. Lately though he began to wonder and especially after one of his fears came through.

He feared that having power would corrupt him so much that he would become a monster. The problem was that Peter couldn't say it wouldn't happen. He had no power now and everyday he was struggling with being a better person. How much would that struggle increase with all that power and burden of being a leader?

"You're a dick Peter." The voice stops Peter in his tracks mid punch to the bag. He turns to see the petite form of Chris stalking to him with a scowl on her face.

Peter shakes his head and turns back to the bags with a matching scowl. "You hunted me down to tell me something you tell me at least fifty times a day and have since we were five Chris?"

Chris keeps her stride and stops near him, arms crossed over her chest and scowl still in place. "No. I have more to say."

"Oh joy." Peter drawled out after he stopped and faced her. "Well let's hear it so I can get back to beating on the bags."

Chris frowned then sighed. "You're a dick Peter and you always will be."

Peter rolled his eyes and tried not to let his temper surface. It was like hearing his father all over again in tearing him down. "You know, if I wanted to be constantly torn down and made to feel like scum I could have stayed in Candor with my dad. Is that all you have to say to me?"

Chris blanched at this but then her spine straightened and her chin raised. She just had to remember why she had come in the first place.

"You aren't the only one that was made to feel that way Peter. I realize I am not the nicest person but I do try. It was pointed out to me that maybe you are just doing the best you can too." She takes a deep breath and holds out her hand. "So this is me. Trying to understand and maybe move on."

Peter quirks an eyebrow and tilts his head. With a sigh he takes her hand and shakes it before releasing it. He knows her enough to know she isn't done though. "Sounds good. Why do I have the feeling that you aren't finished though?"

Chris nods. "Because I'm not. Look I'm worried about something but I didn't know who to go to. You aren't wrong about Al. What you might not know is that he has also been hanging out with Drew and Molly lately. They all aren't doing well in the sims and I think because they're all from our faction it brought them together. The thing is we all know how desperate things are getting."

Peter sighs and nods. "You want me to see if they are trying to get him to do something or are planning anything." It wasn't a question but rather a statement.

He hadn't realized that Al had been recruited to be in Drew and Molly's little bitch sessions. He had been skipping them lately to work on his sims and trying to solve them in more Dauntless ways.

Chris nodded and chewed her lip. "He is obsessed with Tris and we both know Molly and Drew blame her for everything that goes wrong for them."

Peter's face darkens and his fists clench. He tries not to show how much this bothers him. He doesn't feel romantically for Tris but she is the closest thing to a real best friend he has ever had.

Chris's eyes narrow and she tilts her head observing Peter. She gets an internal smile at how protective he is being right now. She doesn't like Peter and may never like him. But if he is willing to protect Tris then she is alright with that.

"Well then maybe I should hang out with my two best friends tonight and catch up." Peter grits out with nostrils flared.

Chris smirks and shrugs. "Sounds good. By the way, we are going to be late if we don't get to the sim room soon."

With a nod and a sigh Peter moves to go grab a towel and wipe himself down before he follows her out of the door. She had already moved off without him. He isn't looking forward to the remainder of his day. Now not even the off hours are appealing to him but he will sure as hell be seeing what those two are up to. He wouldn't let another person be hurt if he could help it and for sure not Tris.

"You should have heard him Peter. He is so damn whiney but he is also a huge pervert." Drew snorts and passes the bottle of whiskey to Molly.

Peter puts on his evil smirk and looks to Drew. "What, he have some weird fetish or something?"

Molly drinks and laughs. "No but he sure has a thing for the Stiff. He is always going on about how she never notices him and that sometimes he sticks around to watch her in the showers. I don't know why...it isn't like there is anything to see." She sneers out but Peter can see the jealousy behind her statement.

She has been jealous of Tris and the other girls from the moment she set foot on the roof. She thought that because of her stature and being physically suited for Dauntless she would be better suited to finding herself a man than any of the scrawny girls in their transfer group. She was even sure she would be better off than the Dauntless born.

She wasn't bad looking but her personality and demeanor made her ugly. That was becoming more apparent to Peter all the time and making him question what kind of girl he was looking for. He had hook ups in Candor and here he had a few at the beginning. They might have been good for those few hours or minutes but they were lacking. Fuck if he knew what they were lacking though.

He is pulled out of his musings by listening to Drew and Molly talk about how they were getting in Al's head and telling him he just needed to man up and take what he wanted. That it would prove he was Dauntless. Peter felt the hairs stand up on the back of his neck and his blood start to boil.

They had no firm plans but they said Al was getting closer everyday after fear Sims. There was something in his fear sims that was almost driving him to it. He needed to tell someone about this but he needed to tell Tris to not be alone with Al again if she could help it.

Peter sought Four out after he left the roof. He had left Molly and Drew to their bottle and their rantings then stated he was going to go grab some beers to add to the party. Really he just couldn't hold his temper in and felt he needed to let someone know now.

He had his suspicions about Four and his feelings for Tris. He didn't mind them at all, although Four and he didn't really get along. The dude was just too uptight. Not like he got along with Eric either but Peter didn't think many people got along with the young leader.

Out of the two that he felt he could and should approach though, he knew it was going to be Four. If Four really did care for and have feelings for Tris then he would be the one to help watch out more than Eric.

Peter had to go to the training room when one of Four's friends directed him there. He found Four at the knife throwing stations and approached him.

Four paused before he threw the knife in his hand, turning to the approaching Initiate. "There a problem Initiate?" His forehead furrowed as he put the knife down and crossed his arms over his chest.

Peter ran a hand through his hair nodding. "Or a potential one. You remember what Max and Eric asked me to do?"

Four simply nodded and waited for him to go on.

"Well I got kind of tied up in trying to figure out my whole personal situation." He muttered quietly but Four understood and nodded. Peter sighed, he really made it hard to just want to open up to him with his brooding silence all of the time.

"Well apparently they recruited someone into their pity parties. Al. I just spent time on the roof with them and they let slip some interesting and disturbing things. I won't go into the details of what he was saying but let's just say he has a major thing for Tris and in a really creepy and dangerous way. Molly and Drew are trying to push him to 'assert'..." Peter uses air quotes for that and is speaking through a clenched jaw at this point "himself and take what he wants. They don't have any plans but they said something about his fear sims."

Four's lips thin and his hands clench, his whole body going rigid. Al had some pretty messed up fear sims and one of them was about him being forced to watch himself rape a girl. He didn't fight against that one very hard and lately he wasn't even putting in an effort. He had already alerted leadership about that. The girl was faceless though so it suggested that Al didn't see the girl as a person.

"Then we won't let her be alone with Al. She is supposed to be with Chris, Will and Al right now I think." Four mutters without thinking.

Peter smirks a little and shrugs. "I wouldn't know where she is right now. We are friends but not that kind of friend." He was throwing that out there, a man code to let him know he wasn't trying for anything with Tris.

Four tilted his head and looked Peter over. He could admit he had been jealous of them. He had been for sure Peter was trying something even when Tris insisted that he wasn't and even if he was she wouldn't be interested.

Four sighed and nodded. "Thanks for that. Look, no one can know and nothing has happened. She wants to wait until she makes it, or as she says if she makes it." Both men roll their eyes at that because there is no way she isn't making it or even coming in at least in the top three with her current ranking and times. "Regardless I agree. I don't want crap started and a bigger target painted on her back. Before I would have said you would be one targeting her but I am glad to say I was wrong. So I am asking if you will help me keep an eye on this Peter?"

Nice way of asking asshole. That was all Peter could think at the moment but then he just shrugged it off. Like he would have asked any better. Maybe it was just a Dauntless thing. Dauntless seemed to be full of assholes and dicks.

"Tris is a my friend Four. Probably the first and only real friend I have ever had. If I can help it they won't get near her again. So I will keep an eye on it but it is because I would have anyways." Peter shrugs and says truthfully.

Four's lips thin in thought and he nods. "Where did you leave Molly and Peter?"

Peter tilts his head. "Well I left them on the roof. I left it open for me to head back but I needed to get out of there before my temper got to me and I just pushed their asses off. "

Peter wasn't even playing a that. It had taken every ounce of will and restraint he had to not just stand up and kick his foot out to shove them off the edge.

"I told them I was going to get some beer and head back up there." Peter shrugged.

Four sighed and ran a hand through his head. "Well if you think you can handle it, go back up there with them. I will try and see if I can locate Tris and the others to keep an eye on them."

With a nod they both left. Four told Peter to go ahead of him so they wouldn't be seen together if the three should be in the area. When he left Peter stopped by to get the beer he claimed he was going to get then headed back to the roof. When he got there though he saw that Al had joined them.

Al looked wary of him and as if he was going to get up to leave. Peter thought it better that he keep him there and be able to listen in. He hated doing it but he played up to try and apologize in a manner he normally would.

"Well look who decided to man up and join us. Settle down Al." He handed him a beer before giving one to the others too. "We are all messed up about the shit they are putting us through. I won't apologize for what I said but you know me enough to know I wouldn't anyways."

He pops the top of his own beer and takes a sip, eyeing Al who seems to be debating but then does the same and nods to Peter. "No you wouldn't. I'm not weak though." Al tries to puff out his chest but his words still come out in a whine.

Peter internally rolls his eyes while Molly and Drew snort. "Like we've been saying, then prove it. Man up and take what you want. That will show the leaders you belong here."

Peter's hands clench the can but he doesn't say anything as he uses the chance to listen and take a drink so he doesn't spout off something.

In the end it is a lot of bullshit talk but he sees the spark behind Molly's eyes. She is up to something and before long she says she needs to go to the bathroom and disappears.

Peter is torn. Should he go after her or stay here where the threat is. She won't do anything to Tris, they want Al to do the work for them. Decision made he stays put.

When she makes her way back up to the roof she is grinning like cheshire cat. "Perfect time Al. Time to put up or shut up. Tris is in the training room again so it would be the perfect time to make your move. We will even help you if you want. Won't we boys? Wouldn't it be perfect to see the stiff get what she deserves?" Her voice is evil and oily as she addresses Peter and Drew.

Over his fucking dead body, Peter thinks but he shrugs and pastes on his cruel smile. "I am up for the ride." He slurs his words purposely to make it seem like he is drunk. Al wouldn't believe he is just going to go for it if he were stone cold sober.

He doesn't have to pretend too hard though because Al is pretty drunk himself. Judging by the puffed out chest and smile on his face to go along with his bleary eyes he is agreeing with the plan.

Peter knows he has a decision to make and it needs to be fast. As they make their way down the corridors he suggests that showing their faces wouldn't be smart. Molly pauses in thought but agrees. So they go to find masks and while they do that Peter slips off to find Four.

It takes longer than he would like and the two have to practically race to get to the training room. They were almost too fucking late. Al had Tris hanging over the Chasm because apparently it had turned into a fight when Tris let a few punches fly lose. The drunk asses had become angry and decided that she just needed to go. It was probably Molly's plan all along.

Four took care of Drew and Molly while Peter was trying to pull Tris back up. Al had run but he had gotten a few good punches off on him. Tris hadn't wanted to go to leadership at first but that was solved by Eric materializing.

"This isn't your decision to make Stiff. They attacked and tried to kill you. There are witnesses and proof. The matter is out of your hands. You may not want to seem like you are weak but allowing them to stay is weakening us. They are out and are lucky I am not putting a fucking bullet into their brains." Eric ground out, his arms crossed over his chest and a scowl on his face.

They were at the clinic where Tris was taken, after almost having to carry the stubborn stiff, to be checked out. She was fine and he was impressed with her resolve to not show weakness. She was still a bit mouthy but if she kept improving and showing that steel in her spine he wouldn't mind having her in leadership if that was where it was headed for since she had been in the top spot. That meant though, that as much as she might want to handle things on her own, she needed to learn that these rules needed and must be followed for the good of the faction.

Tris sighed with thinned lips and nodded. "Understood Sir." She simply replied after sharing looks with Peter and Four. She couldn't tell Peter to step up and report things to get Molly and Drew out of Dauntless but then not do the same herself. It was her pride that was hurt right now and letting that rule her decisions. "I understand it is necessary and better for our faction this way. I won't let my own pride and stubbornness get in the way of that tonight or hopefully again."

Eric nodded approvingly as well as the other leaders. They left soon after as they needed to start the process of punishing the three and sending them on their way.

Peter and Four helped Tris back to the dorm. It was reluctant on Four's part but Tris had insisted and Peter said he would help to keep watch on her.

Later during the interviews and the meetings with leaders it was revealed things to those investigating the incident; details that had Eric and Four both thinking deeply about the initiation process, testing and the future of Dauntless in general.

During all three interviews with the former Candor initiates it was revealed that none of the three had gotten Dauntless as an aptitude. On all three they didn't have any real desire to be in Dauntless either. All three had gotten Candor as their aptitudes and all three seemed to have chosen to leave for the same reason. It was a well known fact that in Candor during their initiations they would have been subjected to several weeks of being under the truth serum. During these sessions their deepest darkest truths and secrets would be revealed.

They had each determined separately that they would rather leave than face those. Al would rather leave than admit to his friends and family that remained that he had not only thought of hurting women but that he had been very close to it several times. He had transferred to Dauntless, he said, because he thought that going to the place where he would be a protector would help him get rid of those feelings.

Eric and Four knew what he wasn't admitting to himself though. He had hoped that going to a place known for violence and brutality would give him the opportunities to do just that. Eric never wished to be able to execute someone as much as he longed to do the former Candor. Because he also knew those urges were just going to grow when he went to the factionless...and there would be no one to stop him from acting them out this time.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"You are turning down the leadership position?" Will asked Peter incredulously over the breakfast table. They were all more than a little bleary eyed and groggy after partying the night away.

Initiation day had finally come and they were finally all official Dauntless members.

Tris had ranked first, Peter second, Uriah third, then Lynn, Will, Mar, Chris, Devon, Alex, Ty and Jake. The final four had all been Dauntless born and it had surprised all of the transfers, leaders and instructors that all of the transfers were above most of the Dauntless born.

Peter sipped on his coffee and nodded. "I think I would be better suited to something else. Besides there is only one opening for a main leader, the rest of them are just junior leaders. Not that there is anything wrong with that but I was thinking of doing contributing elsewhere."

Tris smirked over at him and nodded. She knew the real reasons he was turning it down and while she thought he was putting too much stock into the fear sims she also understood. She also thought that his choices were perfect for him.

Uriah groans as he raises his head from the table, trying to find the will to be snarky or funny. He just can't so he shrugs and mutters his question. "Whatcha gonna do?" Then he let his head fall back to the table as Mar gently patted it and sipped on her own coffee.

Peter shook his head at the Pedrad. "You would think being a Dauntless born and a legendary Pedrad brother that you could handle your liquor better. To answer your question though they are going to let me hold two positions. The position I chose was on the SIT team. I talked things over with Four and I wanted to go Intel or Control but I wanted to do more than just that. So he suggested I talk to leadership about joining the Situational Intelligence Team. Seems like a good fit and I will also be helping out with training as an Instructor too."

Will looked thoughtful and nodded. "I can see that being a good fit for you. I was excited they opened up an R&D department here and I can't wait to work in it. I also can't wait to do the training for Medic."

Chris snorts and kisses her boyfriend then pulls away shaking her head. "I laugh but I think your nerdiness is sexy baby."

Will smirks and drink his coffee. The rest of the morning is spent talking about the positions they would all be taking. Tris went with leadership and although Four had at first not been happy he had accepted and supported the decision soon after.

Four and Tris had gone public but also went beyond just flirting last night at the party. There were some eyebrows raised but those of the group had shrugged it off or exchanged credits from bets that had been placed.

After the incident with Al, Drew and Molly; Peter had gotten on better terms with Four but what had surprised the shit out of him was a friendship with Eric.

The young leader said he saw something of himself in Peter. At first Peter hadn't known how to take that. Eric could be a huge asshole and Peter now found it amusing he had been offended by him saying they were alike. Amusing because it is so true. Eric wasn't a bad guy when it was outside of training or his leader duties. He had a sarcastic sense of humor and a different perspective on things that had been bothering Peter.

To be honest Eric was the one that said he might want to stay away from Leadership if he was that worried about what it would do to him. Eric himself had issues with his own nature but he was never in it for the power. If power was a weakness for him though, he had said, then he would have contemplated going another route too.

Soon they all went their different ways. They had to get housing situated, met their new bosses and then depending on where they were living they would need to get their places set up and themselves geared up.

Four walked with Tris, holding her hand, and Peter to the leader's offices. Tris had turned down the leader apartment and will be staying with Four. Peter isn't being given a leader apartment but he will be getting an apartment on one of the upper levels because he is in a higher position and because of his rank.

"Why would you turn down one of those big apartments Tris? You two could have gone to stay in it." Peter asks with a confused frown.

Tris just smiles and shrugs. "Maybe because I am sentimental. Seriously though I love Four's apartment and where it is. He loves his apartment and we don't need all of that space. Just more to clean or take care of and we are going to be busy. So why not stay were we like it and are comfortable. Besides while everyone else will be stressing about getting theirs set up I will be curling up with my boyfriend tonight in a nice apartment and not having to do a damn thing."

Peter smirked and laughed. "Fair enough. All good points. I just hope the place I get has a window or two. I will be happy with that."

Four shrugged with a smirk. "I am sure your's will have enough light for you Peter."

Peter scowled at Four and narrowed his eyes. "Hey I can't help that my mind went with being afraid of complete and total darkness as well as emptiness. I have no clue what they meant but I can say I am not afraid of the dark."

His voice was almost pouty and it caused the other two to laugh. As always Peter wondered how things and he had changed so much since he first set foot on the roof. He was still himself. Still brutally honest at times, a dick and had a temper. He was also finding he could be fiercely loyal and capable of caring, really caring for others than himself. He could be selfless, brave, honest and even smart about things.

He would always need to make the effort to chose the right path but it was becoming easier. Yes he was changing enough that it made those choices easier but it wasn't only that. It was Tris, Four, Eric, Uriah and even Chris….it was his friends that helped him to make the right choices or to want to.

Looking back he wished he had what he did now back in Candor. Maybe if he had the types of friends he does now he wouldn't have had to travel the road he did. Maybe he wouldn't have to try so hard just to do the right thing.

Then again they all did it was just not something that was talked about. Whatever it was that led him to where he was now he realized that he was happy. A novelty for him and one that made him excited for the future.

A future he was making for himself and free of the scars of the past. He was a better man for having taken the stiff up on her advice and offer of friendship.


End file.
